“Qaddafi, after twitching feverishly with a flurry of vengeful responses, quieted down and retreated in the desert.” Former U.S. Secretary of State G. P. Shultz 1993

RUMINT

Today, December 8 1988, Israeli commandos raided the Lebanese headquarters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) near Damour, killing 20 and wounding dozens more. [1]

Allegedly, Israeli forces captured documents related to a planned attack on a Pan Am flight out of Frankfurt later that month. This information was passed to the governments of the United States and Germany.

Four sources independently confirmed to Pan Am Lawyer Shaughnessy that in the early hours of Dec. 9, 1988, Israeli Defense Forces had captured documents which disclosed plans to bomb Pan Am flight 103 out of Frankfurt in late December.

All sources agreed that the Israelis had immediately warned the governments of the United States and West Germany.

Pan Am Sec Manager told to go to Finland

Today, December 8 1988, following the FAA security bulletin issued to US embassies and airliners, Pan Am contacted his Heathrow based Corporate Security Manager Jim Berwick. They instructed Berwick to go to Helsinki at once to investigate the warning received by the US embassy on Dec. 5 (1988).

In the evening of Dec. 8, Berwick left for Finland. There, he was met at the airport by US regional security officer, Kenneth Luzzi who had picked up the warning call.

The Declaration of Stockholm

Today — December 8 1988 — a delegation of American Jews and a delegation led by Yasir Arafat, the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, presented the following declaration which was presented by Foreign Minister Sten Andersson of Sweden. [2]

Prior to yesterday meeting, National Security Advisor Colin Powell had secretly provided one of the American Jew a document to be forwarded to Arafat. The secret document is a presidential pledge to start a dialogue with the PLO if Arafat meets certain conditions.

The group also addressed a document with similar content to US Secretary of State Georges Shultz. However, under great pressure from the Reagan-Bush Administration, Shultz refused to issue Arafat a visa, thus denying him the possibility to attend a UN meeting scheduled to discuss the Palestine crisis.

A Mystery of History

In his memoirs “My years as Secretary of State” published in 1993, i.e. two years after the indictment of two Libyans for the bombing of PA 103, G. P. Shultz wrote the following regarding the consequences of the April 1986 bombing of Tripoli during which Gaddafi infant daughter was killed.

“Qaddafi, after twitching feverishly with a flurry of vengeful responses, quieted down and retreated in the desert.” [3]

Reflecting on the same US attack on Tripoli which made use of U.K. air bases, Thatcher would appear to share Shultz conclusion in her 1993 memoirs: The Downing Street Years.

“There were revenge killings of British hostages organized by Libya, which I bitterly regretted. But the much vaunted Libyan counter-attack did not and could not take place. There was a marked decline in Libya sponsored terrorism in succeeding years,” the Iron Lady wrote.

Are we really supposed to believe that by 1993, both Thatcher and Shultz had forgotten that Libya — and Libya alone according to President Bush — was responsible for the worst crime committed in the UK and the largest mass murder of US citizens?

“Affirming the principle incorporated in those United Nations resolutions that call for a two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, the P.N.C.:

— Agreed to enter into peace negotiations at an international conference under the auspices of the U.N., with the participation of the permanent members of the Security Council and the P.L.O. as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, on equal footing with the other parties to the conflict. Such an international conference is to be held on the basis of U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338 and the right of the Palestinian people of self-determination, without the external interference, as provided in the U.N. Charter, including the right to an independent state, which conference should resolve the Palestinian problem in all its aspects;

— Established the independent State of Palestine and accepted the existence of Israel as a state in the region;

— Declared its rejection and condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, including state terrorism;

— Called for a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem in accordance with international law and practices and relevant U.N. resolutions, including right of return or compensation.”

(3) George P. Shultz,

Turmoil and Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State – Page 687; New York: Schribner 1993